


Let's Fall in Love for the Night

by Nadiainklover



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, M/M, Quarantine, Saphael
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23435494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nadiainklover/pseuds/Nadiainklover
Summary: It was the second day of self-quarantine and Simon was ready to pull out his hair. It was not even lunchtime and Simon was ready for the day to be over.* * *The one where Simon and Raphael are neighbors and they spend the quarantine talking through their balconies.
Relationships: Simon Lewis/Raphael Santiago
Comments: 9
Kudos: 122





	Let's Fall in Love for the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> So the quarantine has inspired me and I've been writing a lot lately!  
> I wrote this one-shot today :D and I'm already working on a longer-fic and brainstorming on new ideas for the other projects I'm working on! 
> 
> So I really hope you enjoy this story! I got inspired by buoyantsaturn, so the credit goes to them for the idea.

It was the second day of self-quarantine and Simon was ready to pull out his hair. It was not even lunchtime and Simon was ready for the day to be over.  
He was lounging on his sofa, still in his pajamas, staring at the ceiling of his apartment. The person who owned the apartment above him had loud music playing and Simon could feel the beginning of a head-ache coming. He groaned, trying to will his body to move, do something! But he didn’t have the energy. He was so bored already. He didn’t know for how long he would need to stay in self-isolation, but Simon was pretty sure he wouldn’t survive this. He wondered how long it would take his family to find out he died out of boredom. Probably not until after the quarantine. Nobody was allowed to visit him. Clary would know something was wrong if he stopped answering her text messages, though. Maybe she would tell Luke to come looking for him. As a police officer, Luke was allowed to be out and about the city. Yeah, Luke would find him. Simon could see it. He would be lying on the sofa as he was right now, wearing his pajamas that had crumbs and food stains, his tv would be making white noise in the background…

Simon shook his head, vanishing the image away from his mind. He was exaggerating. He was just bored because he had exhausted in one day all of the activities he had planned to do during the self-quarantine. Yesterday Simon had binge-watched the series he had been watching on Netflix and finished it. He had played his guitar, read the comics he had not had time to read yet. He even cooked dinner! And now...now Simon had nothing else to do. 

“I’m going to die!” Simon groaned loudly. 

He turned his head and saw the keyboard piano he owned. It stood against the wall, waiting for Simon to sit in front of it and play it. And he had to play it. Simon needed to work on new music. His agent had told him to use this self-quarantine to work on some new songs for his next EP. His previous one had gotten enough attention that the agency Simon worked with wanted him to release some more songs, and if they did well then Simon could sign a contract to release a whole album. Simon was happy enough with releasing songs and to have people that listened to them. But now he needed to work on new songs, and sadly inspiration had been running dry for a while now. 

With another loud groan, Simon stood up. His head swirled with the movement, but he managed to stay afoot. He looked down at his clothes and decided to change out of them. There was no way he would be able to work if he stayed in his pajamas, feeling all comfortable and warm. He changed out of them and into a pair of jeans and a graphic star wars t-shirt. He then sat up in front of his keyboard and attempted to play something. 

Two hours later and Simon was ready to bang his head against the wall. He had some melodies down, but nothing was working for him. 

“Maybe some fresh air will help,” Simon said.

He couldn’t go out of his apartment, unless absolutely necessary, but he could still go out on his balcony. The day was nice outside. The sky was clear, and the sun was shining, but his apartment was covered by the shade of the building across the street. There seemed to be a nice breeze, perfect to spend some time outside. So Simon took his guitar, his songs notebook and stepped out into his balcony. As predicted, the weather was nice and Simon felt instantly better. Being inside for too long had never been Simon’s thing. He was often moving, going places with his friends. Simon liked to talk and being all by himself was starting to affect him. But being outside helped. So he sat down on the lawn chair he kept on the balcony and started fiddling with the chords on his guitar.  
Simon didn’t know how long he was out there. It could have been hours or just a couple of minutes. But he only stopped playing when the sound of someone talking to him interrupted him.

“Are you the guy who’s playing that annoyingly loud music?” 

Simon looked at the balcony next to his. A man stood there, not much older than Simon. He was Simon’s next-door neighbor. Simon had seen him a few times walking in or out of his apartment, but Simon had never paid too much attention to him. The man was gorgeous, Simon noted now, and it was a shame he had never realized that.

“Well?” The man asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

The man was wearing a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dark blue chinos. His hair curled behind his ears and his tanned skin looked beautiful with the light hitting him. 

“N-No,” Simon shook his head quickly. He stood up, placing the guitar on the floor leaning against the wall. “That’s the guy from upstairs. He’s a DJ or something,”  
_“Lo odio,”_ the man grunted.  
“What?” Simon asked, confused.  
“I said I hate him,” the man rolled his eyes. “He has been playing his annoying music for hours now! I can’t concentrate.”  
“I know,” Simon winced. “I kind of blocked out his music, to be honest.”  
“Lucky you,” the man grunted.  
“I’m Simon, by the way.” Simon introduced himself. “Nice to meet you.”  
“I’m Raphael,”  
“How’s the quarantine treating you?” Simon asked, leaning against the railing of his balcony.  
“As good as it could, I suppose,” Raphael shrugged. “It isn’t much different, I don’t go out much. I have classes online, now, but it could be worse.”  
“What are you studying?” Simon asked. Maybe Simon had misjudged his age, maybe Raphael was much younger than Simon.

Simon was 26 years old. He had finished his degree in accounting at the age of 22 and then decided to dedicate his life to his music. If Raphael was still studying, that meant he had to be younger than Simon by 5 years at least.

“I’m not studying, I teach the classes” Raphael smirked.  
“You do? That’s cool!” Simon said. Maybe he wasn’t that young then. “What do you teach?”  
“Latin American Literature,” Raphael said.  
“Wait...you’re a college professor?” Simon’s eyes widened. “How old are you?”  
“It is rude to ask someone’s age,” Raphael pointed out.  
“I’m 26! You can’t be much older than me!” Simon continued, completely ignoring Raphael’s comment.  
“I’m younger than you,” Raphael said. “I’m 25 and I’ve been teaching for over a year now.”  
“Wow...Now I feel like I’ve been wasting my life,” Simon said.  
“What do you do for a living?” Raphael asked.  
“I’m a musician!” Simon grinned.  
“You any good?”  
“Hopefully, better than our upstairs neighbor!” 

Raphael just hummed, his eyebrow raised. There was a small smirk tugging at Raphael’s lips and Simon wondered what it would take for Raphael to smile properly. 

“Well, I better go back to work,” Raphael said. “Got essays to grade.”  
“Oh...okay...good luck!” Simon said.  
“Thank you,” 

Raphael looked at him for one moment more before disappearing inside his apartment. Simon stared at the place where the other had been before returning to his place by his guitar. 

Simon spent the rest of the afternoon playing his guitar, taking notes of chords and melodies and possible lyrics. All of a sudden, Simon felt very inspired. A song had started to take place in his head and he needed to write it down before it disappeared.  
Soon, though, he was interrupted by his stomach growling loudly. He fished out his phone and realized it was well past 4 pm and he had not eaten lunch yet. He decided to retire inside to prepare something to eat and take a break from the guitar. His fingers were cramping from playing for such a long time. 

* * *

The next day Simon got comfortable on his lawn chair again. Simon told himself it was because the weather was nice and being on his balcony helped him. It was not because he was hoping to see certain someone from the apartment next to him. When Raphael stepped out into his apartment, however, Simon placed his guitar down right away.

“I heard you playing,” Raphael nodded at Simon’s guitar.  
“Oh yeah?” Simon blushed. “It’s just something I’ve been working on,”  
“It sounds good,” Raphael said.  
“Thank you,” Simon said, feeling embarrassed at how breathless he sounded. “Did you finished grading those essays?”  
“I did,” Raphael nodded. “I’m afraid I’ll have to assign my students more reading materials because they’re clearly taking this quarantine as a vacation.”  
“They’ll get bored of watching Netflix soon enough and start reading anything they find,” Simon grinned. “I know I would.”  
“Perhaps,” Raphael said. 

Simon fidgeted in his place, while Raphael leaned against the railing of his balcony and looked down the street. It wasn’t that they were forbidden from going out. In fact, they could go out, but most businesses had closed. The only open places were supermarkets and pharmacies. Simon had enough food in his pantry that he didn’t need to go shopping anytime soon. 

“Would you like to have lunch?” Simon blurted out.  
“We’re in quarantine,” Raphael frowned. “We can’t have lunch,”  
“No, I know...I meant out here...in our balconies?” Simon said. “You get your lunch, I get mine and we eat! Together...but not really. Because we’re in different balconies. But we can still talk to each other! Get to know you better and all that…”  
“Do you always talk that much?” Raphael asked.  
“...Yes?” Simon replied. “Is that a no to lunch?”

Raphael stared at him for a moment and then he nodded once, straightening. 

“Let’s have lunch then,” he said.  
“Cool!” Simon grinned.

* * *

A week into the self-quarantine and Simon and Raphael had started eating lunch together every day. Simon found it was so easy to talk to Raphael. The other would pretend to be annoyed at how much Simon talked, but in truth he always paid attention. Simon knew the other was paying attention to what he said because he always asked follow-up questions and kept the conversation going. Plus, Raphael always came out to eat lunch with him. Little by little they started to get to know each other better and little by little Simon’s heart fluttered more.  
Raphael would often talk about his classes and the books he was reading. Simon found it endearing when the other got really passionate about a certain book or author. Simon thought he could listen to Raphael talk all day without getting bored. They also talked about other things, things they liked to do, things they didn’t. They talked about their friends and about their family. 

“I have one older sister and two younger brothers,” Raphael explained. “Rosa is 28, Diego and Daniel are 16. They’re twins.”  
“I only have one older sister, and she’s 30” Simon explained. “But Clary is like my sister. We grew up together as neighbors and have been inseparable since then.”  
“She’s the artist, right?” Raphael asked.  
“Yeah! She’s working on a new exhibit, but it probably will get delayed.” Simon said.  
“Probably for the best,” Raphael shrugged.  
“How long do you think this quarantine will last?” Simon sighed.  
“Probably until they find a cure and vaccines become available,” Raphael said.  
“That sucks,” Simon groaned. “I miss being outside,”  
“You’re outside right now,” Raphael pointed out.  
“This doesn’t count!” Simon protested. “I want to go to the park, or just walk around the city. I even miss the subway!”  
“You’re crazy,” Raphael shook his head, but there was a smile tugging at his lips.  
“I bet you miss it as well!” Simon said.  
“Not as much as you do, apparently” Raphael replied. “But I guess I do miss being out. I’ll go out soon, though.”  
“You’re going out?” Simon raised his eyebrows. “You can’t!”  
“I need food,” Raphael rolled his eyes. “We’re allowed to go to the supermarket, you know?”  
“Oh! I also need to go to the supermarket!”  
“No wonder, you’ve been eating pasta all week!”  
“Pasta is delicious!” Simon protested.  
“You need to eat something else.” Raphael rolled his eyes.  
“Which is why I’m going to the supermarket!” Simon grinned. “We could go together!”  
“You want us to go to the supermarket together?” Raphael raised an eyebrow.  
“Yeah! I mean...not together-together because we need to be like...at least 6 feet apart from each other, but we can still go!” Simon said.

Raphael quirked an eyebrow at him. Simon thought that Raphael’s eyebrows expressed more than the rest of his face. Simon would never admit that he had spent way too much time studying Raphael’s face to come to that conclusion.

“Alright,” Raphael said, standing up.  
“Wait, really?”  
“Sure,” Rachael shrugged. “Tomorrow at eleven?”  
“Y-Yeah! That sounds good,” Simon nodded.  
“It’s a date then,”

Before Simon had time to process what Raphael had said, the other man had already disappeared inside his apartment.

_It’s a date…_

The words echoed in Simon’s head and he couldn’t stop the grin that split into his face. 

* * *

The next day Simon was freaking out. He had spent all night overthinking Raphael’s words. He probably didn’t mean it as a date-date. What kind of date was going to the supermarket anyway? Raphael probably only said it as a joke. People said that! It was a thing! That didn’t mean they actually meant it was an actual date. 

As Simon paced in front of his front door, trying to think of things he could do or say, there was a knock on his door. Simon jumped up at the sound. He looked at the time on his phone and realized it was already eleven. Simon gulped and braced himself. He took his wallet and keys and opened the door.

Raphael was standing outside. He had stepped away from Simon’s door, though, maintaining the six feet apart rule. 

“Hey!” Simon smiled widely at him.  
“Hello,” Raphael nodded at him. “You ready?”  
“Y-Yeah!” Simon said, closing the door behind him. “Let’s go!”

Raphael chuckled and started walking down the stairs. Simon walked behind him, trying to stop his thoughts from freaking out too much. 

“I talked to my brothers last night,” Raphael said. 

At some point during their walk, they had switched places. Simon was now walking ahead of Raphael. Simon was walking backward, trusting Raphael to tell him if he was about to crash against something or someone. 

“Oh yeah?” Simon grinned. “How are they?”  
“Bored,” Raphael rolled his eyes. “Even though they don’t have to go to school, they still have homework to do.”  
“I’m sure your mom is making sure they’re doing it,” 

Raphael had spoken a lot about his mother. Simon found it endearing how much Raphael loved and cared for his mother. The other was not ashamed of talking about how Guadalupe Santiago had raised four kids on her own in a foreign country. 

“Oh, she is,” Raphael chuckled. “The two of them don’t stand a chance against her.”  
“Poor guys,”  
“Daniel told me something interesting, though,” Raphael said. There was a gleam in his eyes that Simon couldn’t place. Maybe if they were standing much closer…  
“What did he say?” Simon wondered.  
“He told me he found you on Spotify,” Raphael.  
“What?” Simon almost stumbled on his feet. “You...told them about me?”  
“It just came into the conversation,” Raphael waved his hand. “He asked about the quarantine here and I told him about my annoying neighbor,”  
“Ouch,” Simon frowned.  
“When he heard your name he got this funny look on his face,” Raphael continued. “Turns out he had listened to your music before. He sent me the link,”  
“And...what did you think?” Simon asked, nervous about Raphael’s answer.  
“I mean, I listen to you play your guitar every morning, it wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before,” Raphael said.  
“Oh...right” Simon smiled, but he didn’t understand why he felt disappointed.

They reached the supermarket soon enough and they couldn’t keep talking. Simon had to admit it felt good to be out, even if had to keep using hand sanitizer and making sure he was standing far enough from everyone around him. It made shopping for food much more complicated, but they managed. Soon enough, Simon and Raphael had bought all the food they needed and were making their way back to the apartment. Simon chattered all the way back, talking about the latest show he had started watching and making a list of all the movies and tv shows he wanted to binge-watch. Soon enough they reached their doors, though.

“This was fun,” Simon said.  
“We just went to the market,” Raphael rolled his eyes.  
“Still,” Simon shrugged.  
“It was good going out for a bit,” Raphael nodded. “Sadly, now I have to go back inside and get some work done.”  
“Right, you’re a busy professor, after all,” Simon teased.  
“Shouldn’t you be working on new music?” Raphael raised an eyebrow.  
“I’ll have you know I’m already working on a new song!” Simon said, making Raphael chuckle.  
“I’ll see you around, Simon.” Raphael started to open his door.  
“Wait! Would you like to watch something tonight?” Simon blurted out. “We could watch a movie or a series…”  
“Again, we’re in quarantine,” Raphael said.  
“We don’t have to be watching the same screen,” Simon rolled his eyes. “We can...Netflix Party or something.”  
“Sure, why not,” Raphael said. “But I’m not watching Star Wars.”  
“Why not?” Simon protested.  
“The movies are too long!” Raphael said. “And I have to give a lecture tomorrow morning.”  
“Fine, we’ll watch something else,” Simon sighed. “See you in the balcony?”  
“Yeah, see you” Raphael nodded.

Raphael stepped inside his apartment and Simon did the same on his. 

* * *

Simon’s plans crumbled in front of him at the sight of the rain pouring outside. He glared out the window, feeling himself deflating. There was no way he and Raphael could watch something together if they couldn’t go out into the balconies. Simon mourned the fact that he had never asked Raphael for his phone number. Not they couldn’t even talk to each other. He was about to go mope in his room when an idea struck him.

Minutes later he was taping a sheet of paper into his window, hoping Raphael would be able to see it. 

He didn’t have to wait long. Soon enough his phone vibrated next to him.

_**[Unknown]: Idiota  
[Unknown]: you shouldn’t put your phone number for everyone to see.** _

There was only one person who called him an idiot in Spanish and that was Raphael. 

**[Simon]: but you saw it!  
_[Raphael]: I could be a complete stranger who’ll break into your apartment and kill you while you sleep._  
[Simon]: But you aren’t!  
[Simon]: Now we can talk at any moment!**

And that is how the two of them spent the next week. The rain continued for a few days, but now Raphael and Simon texted back and forth every day. Raphael still had his lectures and he still needed to work, but he answered Simon’s texts whenever he could. Simon worked on his EP and it started to take shape. He had new songs he had shown his agent and was working on more. Some nights, Simon and Raphael even talked on the phone for hours on end. Overall, being self-quarantine wasn’t so bad. 

“All I’m saying is that you need to watch Queer Eye,” Simon said into the phone.  
“You are the second person that has said that to me,” Raphael said.  
“Oh yeah?” Simon asked.  
“Yeah, Magnus was telling me about it just last week,” Raphael explained. “That man is obsessed with the series.”  
“It is good!” Simon exclaimed.  
“I guess I’ll have to watch it,” Raphael spoke.  
“Oh my god, please do!” Simon said.

Simon was trying to cook dinner while he spoke to Raphael. He had the phone between his ear and shoulder while he tried to open a bottle of beer.

“What are you doing?” Raphael asked.  
“Trying to open a bottle of beer,” Simon grunted. “It isn’t easy when you’re balancing a phone on your shoulder.”  
“You could just put me on speaker,” Raphael said and Simon knew he was rolling his eyes.  
“Oh...you’re right! I didn’t think about that.” Simon said.

Simon placed the phone on speaker and then put it on the counter. It was much easier to open the bottle now. 

“Idiota,” Raphael said.  
“I know you’re calling me an idiot!” Simon protested. “I may not know Spanish, but that one isn’t too hard to guess.”  
“I know,” Raphael said and he sounded smug. “Did you manage to open your bottle?”  
“I did!” Simon grinned.  
“I never liked beer,” Raphael said. “I’m more of a wine guy,”  
“Wine is okay,” Simon shrugged. “It’s too fancy. I always feel like I need to eat something over the top in order to drink wine. Plus, there’s no way I could finish a bottle of wine all by myself.”  
“Hence the beer,” Raphael nodded.  
“Hence the beer!” Simon grinned.

The two of them ended up drinking more than they intended. Talking about wine, Raphael had decided to open a bottle for himself. The two of them talked for hours while drinking and at some point, both of them ended up being more than a little bit tipsy. It wasn’t enough for them to be completely wasted, but it loosened their tongues a little bit.

“So wait...you were dating both girls at the same time?” Raphael laughed.  
“I didn’t mean to!” Simon groaned. “Life just got...confusing. I didn’t think Izzy and I were anything serious and then Maia was just confusing”  
“Sure,” Raphael snorted.  
“Shut up!” Simon protested. “Maia ended things soon enough. Turns out he was seeing another guy”  
“Ouch,”  
“Meh...he was her ex-boyfriend and I have to say they’re perfect together,” Simon explained. “We parted as friends. And then things got serious with Izzy anyway,”  
“Are you still dating her?” Raphael asked.  
“No, we broke up over a year ago,” Simon sighed. “It just didn’t work out…”  
“And you’ve been single ever since?”  
“Yeah,” Simon nodded. “I mean...I’ve dated. Even had a few one-night stands with some guys, but it got boring pretty soon. I want something to last, you know? A real relationship.”  
“I understand,” Raphael nodded. “I haven’t had a boyfriend in almost a year,”  
“Boyfriend?” Simon asked. “So that means you’re…”  
“It is rude to ask about someone’s sexuality,” Raphael commented.  
“Sorry!” Simon winced. “I’m sorry, you’re right”  
“It’s alright Simon, I’m just teasing you” Raphael laughed. Simon wished he could see him right now, see what he looked like when he laughed. “Yes, I’m gay.”

The word tugged at Simon’s heart. This whole time Simon had been wondering if Raphael was into guys or not. Simon guessed he was because there was no way someone straight would take the time to make sure his hair was perfect while on a quarantine, but he didn’t want to assume. 

“I’m pansexual,” Simon admitted. 

Just because Raphael was into men didn’t mean he was into Simon. No matter how much Simon wished it was otherwise, the other man was most likely not interested in him. And nobody would blame him. There was no way Raphael could fall for a guy like Simon, he thought.

“What happened with your last boyfriend?” Simon asked instead.  
“You don’t want to know,” Raphael sighed deeply.  
“I do!” Simon said right away. “I mean...if you want to tell me. You don’t have to,”  
“His name was Christian,” Raphael explained. “We met at college...we studied together, started dating in our last semester. Things were perfect for a while. We shared common interests, we were both dedicated to our work. But after a few months, he lost his job and I was had just been hired as a professor...I didn’t realize things were bad until later.”  
“What happened?” Simon asked softly.  
“He got jealous of my job,” Raphael sighed. “I guess he couldn’t stand that I was doing so well while he was struggling to find a new job. I mean, I tried to help him find something but nothing was coming up. He started growing...possessive. He would demand we spend more time together, and whenever I said I couldn’t hang out he freaked out and started fighting with me. He started to claim that I didn’t care about him, that all I cared about was my job. And I mean, maybe I did, I don’t know. I was too focused on my classes I didn’t notice there was something wrong. But then he started to monitor my every move. He would ask where I was going and demanded to know who I was talking with. He even got jealous of Magnus, accused me of cheating on him or whatever. I ended the relationship then. He was no longer the person I had fallen for and I didn’t want a relationship with someone who couldn’t trust me.”

The line was quiet for a moment. All Simon wanted to do was go to Raphael’s apartment and hug him, but he couldn’t because of the stupid quarantine. 

“I’m sorry,” Simon said at last.  
“Don’t be,” Raphael replied. “It was a long time ago and I’m over him, anyway.”

* * *

Something changed after that night. They grew closer, somehow. Whenever they talked on the balconies they shared warm glances and smiled with each other. They continued texting each other non-stop and talked on the phone every night before going to sleep. 

Slowly Simon’s feeling started to run out of control. Inspiration hit him and he wrote song after song, and Simon was shy to admit that he was thinking about Raphael when he wrote them. 

Simon had the slight suspicion that Raphael returned his feelings, but Simon didn’t want to get his hopes up. 

* * *

During the third week, Simon missed lunch in the balcony for the first time. He had started playing video games online with his friends and didn’t notice what time it was. He also didn’t feel his phone vibrating next to him. 

“Stop killing me!” Simon protested. He could hear Jace laughing loudly through his headphones.  
“Stop being so bad at this game!” Jace shot back.  
“You know I hate this game,” Simon pouted.  
“You said you would play if we played one of your choosing,” Clary spoke. “We already played yours, not it’s our turn.”  
“I know,” Simon sighed loudly.

Simon was playing against Clary, Jace, Izzy, and Alec. They had been playing for hours now, but none of them minded. They were all bored because of the quarantine. 

Simon’s phone started ringing in the middle of a round, however. He didn’t bother to check who was calling before answering and placing it in speaker. His attention was absorbed by the screen of his game to notice.

“Hello?” He said to the phone.  
“Simon? Where are you?” The voice on the other side of the phone asked.  
“Who is that?” Clary asked.  
“Raphael!” Simon exclaimed. “Oh god, what time is it?”  
“Who is Raphael?” Izzy asked.  
“Dude! Do you have someone with you?” Jace asked.  
“We’re supposed to be in self-quarantine!” Alec protested.  
“Shut up!” Simon cried out.  
“Simon?” Raphael asked.  
“Not you, Rapha,” Simon said. “Sorry...I’m playing with my friends and I lost track of time.”  
“Is that your boyfriend?” Izzy said teasingly. “I didn’t know you were dating anyone!”  
“Izzy, shut up!” Simon protested. “Rapha, hold on, I’ll be out in a moment.”

Raphael didn’t answer. When Simon glanced at his phone, he realized Raphael had hung up. He groaned and a moment later his character died on his screen.

“I have to go,” Simon said.  
“Don’t break quarantine!” Alec called out while Jace, Clary, and Izzy teased him about his supposedly new boyfriend. 

Simon ignored them and instead he ran out into his balcony. Raphael wasn’t there. Simon fished out his phone and called Raphael. The other didn’t answer. Simon kept calling until Raphael answered.

“What?!” Raphael snapped as soon as he answered.  
“Rapha, I’m sorry I missed lunch!” Simon said right away. “I’ve been playing all morning and I lost track of time.”  
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” Raphael said, suddenly sounding very tired. “It doesn’t matter, go play.”  
“Are you mad?” Simon asked. “I feel like you’re mad.”  
“I’m not mad!” Raphael said, but his voice clearly sounded upset.  
“Liar,” Simon said.  
“It’s nothing,” Raphael sighed. “Go back to your friends, Simon, we can talk tonight.”  
“I’m not leaving if you’re upset,” Simon frowned. “Tell me what’s wrong.”  
“Nothing’s wrong!”  
“Obviously there’s something wrong!” Simon insisted. “You’re upset, I can tell. Please, just talk to me.”  
“I just...I don’t know...it’s stupid,” Raphael struggled to say. “I was waiting for you, but you never showed up! And then there was Izzy..and I just…”  
“Wait...are you jealous?” Simon frowned. Raphael didn’t answer. “Oh my god! You are! Why? Like...why are you jealous?”  
“I didn’t know you were still friends with your ex,” Raphael said.  
“I...yeah, Izzy and I are friends,” Simon frowned. “But there’s nothing going on! Could you...could you just come out? I feel like I need to tell you this face to face,”

Raphael didn’t answer, but he hung up the call. Simon worried the other wouldn’t come out. His chest felt tight. He didn’t know what was happening, but Simon needed to reassure Raphael there was nothing to feel jealous about. After what felt like forever, Raphael stepped out of his apartment and into his balcony.

“There’s nothing between Izzy and me,” Simon said as soon as he saw him. “I swear! We were friends before we started dating and when we broke up we decided to remain friends. I promise there’s nothing between us!”  
“I believe you,” Raphael said and he sounded exhausted. “Listen, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I...why I feel jealous. It’s stupid! Especially after Christopher...I promised myself I would never deal with someone jealous and I turned to be just like him.”  
“Rapha...it’s okay,” Simon said. “But why...why are you jealous?”  
“Isn’t it obvious?” Raphael glared at him. “I like you! God knows why, but I like you, Simon! And I understand that you don’t, and it’s okay, it really is.”

Raphael was the one ranting now, but Simon had stopped listening. All he could hear was Raphael admitted he liked him. 

“Wait here,” Simon said, cutting him off.  
“What...Simon!”

But Simon was already inside his apartment looking for his guitar. He rushed outside, Raphael was still standing on his own balcony. He had his arms crossed and a glare on his face.

“I started writing this song when I met you,” Simon explained. “I just finished it a few days ago.”  
“Simon-”

Simon started playing his guitar, silencing Raphael. He took a deep breath before he started singing. His voice sounded shaky, but he continued singing anyway.

_Let’s fall in love for the night  
and forget in the morning  
play me a song that you like  
you can bet I’ll know every line  
I’m the boy that your boy hoped that you would avoid  
Don’t waste your eyes on jealous guys, fuck that noise  
I know better than to call you mine._

Simon heard Raphael gasp and Simon lifted his eyes to stare at the man across from him. Raphael was looking at him with wide eyes, his eyes shining with something Simon couldn’t quite place. Simon kept singing anyway, hoping Raphael would understand his feelings.

_You need a pick me up  
I’ll be there in twenty-five  
I like to push my luck  
So take my hand, let’s take a drive  
I’ve been living in the future  
Hoping I might see you sooner  
I want you riding shotgun I knew  
When I got one right_

_Let’s fall in love for the night  
and forget in the morning  
play me a song that you like  
you can bet I’ll know every line  
Cuz I’m the boy that your boy hopes that you would avoid  
Don’t waste your eyes on jealous guys, fuck that noise  
I know better  
I know better  
I know better than to ever call you mine. _

Simon finished the last chords of the song. He put his guitar away and suddenly it was too quiet. Raphael was just staring at him.

“Rapha-” Simon started.  
“I don’t want to,” Raphael cut him off. Simon felt like his heart would break.  
“What?” Simon whispered.  
“I don’t want to...fall in love for the night.” Raphael continued. “I don’t want to forget it in the morning...I, I want you, Simon.”  
“You do?” Simon chocked on a breath.  
_“Dios sí,”_ Raphael said. 

Simon grinned widely and Raphael returned the smile. Simon leaned over the railing, trying to be as close to Raphael as he could. 

“I really wish I could kiss you right now,” Simon pouted.  
“Me too,” Raphael murmured. “But that means we’ll have something to look forward to when the quarantine is over.”

Simon couldn’t wait for the quarantine to be over.

* * *

It took a month for the situation to get better. A month still in self-quarantine. A month of sharing as many conversations they could over the railings of their balconies. A month of Raphael calling Simon cute nicknames in Spanish and sharing secrets through phone calls late at night. A month of Simon wishing he could kiss Raphael and being unable to. 

But when the news broke out that they could finally go out of their homes, that a cure had been found and they could get vaccinated, Simon all but ran out of his apartment. He didn’t even bother to put on shoes or change out of his pajamas. He ran out of his apartment and towards Raphael’s. 

Knocking on the door and waiting for the other to answer was hell for Simon. They had waited long enough and he couldn’t wait another second without bursting. 

The moment Raphael opened the door of his apartment, Simon flung himself at him. Raphael stumbled back a few steps, but he quickly recovered and clutched Simon close to him. Their lips met and suddenly all the urgency disappeared. All that mattered was that they could finally touch and be together.

**Author's Note:**

> The song that I used was "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" by FINNEAS.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Comment what you thought :) 
> 
> I hope you're all being safe and are not going crazy with the quarantine.  
> I love you guys!


End file.
